Dependency grammar epitomizes a view on modeling the structure of natural language that has a long history. It is based on the idea that words are connected immediately, with the meaning of dependents contributing to the meaning expressed by the heads they modify. How this contribution is made is indicated by the relation connecting the head and the dependent. These ideas date back to Antiquity, and saw important developments in Medieval Arabic and European linguistics. Based on developments in formal grammar, various formal dependency grammar frameworks have been proposed, with both theoretical and applied interests in mind.